First and foremost, I would like to take this opportunity to extend my condolence to the family of Allahyarham Roslan Shaharum; the people’s elected Member Of Parliament for Bukit Gantang, the Bukit Gantang’s constituents, Pakatan Rakyat’s leaders and supporters, for the passing of one of our people’s champions.

Barely few hours after Bukit Gantang Member of Parliament (MP), Allahyarham Roslan Shaharum was found dead and even though the Election Commission has yet to be notified by the Dewan Rakyat Speaker officially, I was told few Barisan Nasional (BN)'s meetings had been called to prepare some pre-emptive measures to face Pakatan Rakyat anticipating a tough political battle ahead in the next upcoming by-election.

This includes some measures to weaken the opposition coalition further following some notorious outbursts made by the DAP Chairman, Karpal Singh, in his own personal capacity. Karpal Singh is also an MP for Bukit Gelugor in Penang.

This would be the third battle between the two major political coalitions in this country whereby the last two were won by the Pakatan Rakyat. It is unveiled that BN will go all out to win this by-election as another political mileage for the UMNO, and importantly for Najib Razak as their gift for the upcoming UMNO’s General Assembly to mark the UMNO’s constitutional transition of power from Abdullah Badawi to his deputy, Najib Razak.  

BN has lost the majority votes of the people in the last two by-elections.

In its own controlled state of Terengganu, BN failed to retain the Kuala Terengganu Parliamentary Seat when Pakatan Rakyat’s Abdul Wahid Endut (PAS) won 51.4% votes totalling 32, 883 with majority of 2, 631 votes on 17^th January 2009.

Prior to that, in 26^th August 2008 Pakatan Rakyat’s Anwar Ibrahim (PKR) won 71% of votes, totally 31,195 with majority 15, 671 votes to retain the Permatang Pauh Parliamentary Seat which previously won by his wife, Azizah Ismail.

It is also hope that amid the blown-up-out-of-proportion issue of disloyalty towards the Sultan Of Perak, BN will try its best to explain some other issues to the people of Perak why they should be given a chance to win the by-election.

Personally I would like to put forward a simple question; why wasn’t there a notion of disloyalty when BN, especially some UMNO’s top brass openly questioned the selection of Ahmad Said as the Menteri Besar of Terengganu by the state’s Regency Advisory Council in March 2008?

We believe the act of the council was upon an advice made by HRM Tuanku Mizan Zainal who is also the state’s monarch.

On 23^rd March 2008, Muhyiddin Yassin openly advised Ahmad Said to decline the offer from the palace despite the latter has received the letter of appointment willingly on the very same day. 22 of the Barisan Nasional’s ADUNs led by Rosol Wahid went to the Istana Tetamu to send a letter of protest against the palace’s decision at 7:50am, also on the very same day.

Rosol who was not allowed to enter the palace, later handed over the letter to the Secretary Of The Terengganu Regency Advisory Council, Shafie Ali. Speaking to reporters later, he clearly stated all the 22 BN elected representatives fully supported the reappointment of Ideris as the MenterI Besar and rejected Ahmad’s appointment by saying, “Our support for Datuk Seri Ideris is unanimous. There is no other person qualified to hold the Menteri Besar's post apart from him (Idris),"

Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansur, the UMNO’s secretary general even threatened Ahmad Said with a disciplinary action if the latter agreed to the palace’s choice of the new Menteri Besar.

The secretary general of a party which is supposed to protect Malay rights and Rulers over their respective sovereignty openly questioned the appointment of a Menteri Besar by the palace just because Abdullah Badawi sent a letter of nomination to suggest the appointment of Ideris Jusoh as the Menteri Besar.

And again Rosol Wahid also said, “Ahmad's appointment was invalid and hoped that those involved would take a serious view on the matter as it involved the interest of the people in the state.”

Now were these criticisms acts of disloyalty and why wasn't any state's Mufti spoke against all these criticisms? 

When there is a clear indication that no faction commands the majority in the state legislative assembly of Perak because both have 28 elected state representatives, the BN has chosen to be sided with the Ruler, stating the decision to deprive Nizar Jamaluddin and his executive councillor was constitutional.

Thus, were they supposed to pay heed to the interest of the people in the state to have a proper and stable state government with a clear majority by agreeing to the proposal to dissolve the state assembly?

The three independents, and one super-jumper, have been publicly seen as irresponsible elected state representatives. Jamaluddin Mat Radzi, and Osman Jailu are facing trials in legal and public courts as they have been alleged accepting bribes for the acclaimed RM180mil project in Seri Iskandar. If they were to be found guilty, they would be disqualified, and BN could only have one support from the independent state representative, Hee Yit Foong. She, on the other hand, was said to be inundated with her own personal goals to be a state executive councillor, and to have a Toyota Camry. She may have other goals as well, we do not know. Even her “used-to-be-supporting-her” supporters have clearly spoken their mind asking her to vacate her state seat. Meanwhile for Nasarudin Hashim, he is publicly acclaimed as a super-jumper, thus what else could we say?

Luckily we have learnt some past history to prepare for the next upcoming by-election.

With two consecutive defeats in by-elections since March 2008’s General Election, and an upcoming general assembly of the main party in the BN’s coalition, it is important for BN to win this by-election, and it is hope that BN would not play some dirty tactics to win it “by hook or by crook”.

We had seen them in the past, and we are going to pay a little bit of attention for details in the upcoming battle of the wits.

It is the time for some Perakians to express their say in terms of number of votes!

I still remember the first time I saw him in Kuala Kangsar more than 10 years ago, and almost instantly I had so much admiration for the Ruler.

However HRH’s decision not to dissolve the Perak State Legislative Assembly amid political uncertainty in Perak, and to return the power to select people’s representatives back to the people, undeniably has eroded my own personal admiration for Him.

After all these years, and while celebrating His silver jubilee as the State Ruler, HRH chose not to listen to the voices of the majority in Perak who wants to be given a second chance to reaffirm their stand in erecting their very own state government.

We know the fact HRH studied the state constitution well, but why couldn’t He become the Sultan for the people of Perak? Should He listen to the people, we would not have so much of political turmoil and uncertainty in Perak, and the people would be happy with the Sultan. Does He want that too? Does He want the people to regard Him as the people’s Sultan when He passed away? I guess all people want it that way badly.

After all, the actual purpose, as stipulated in the Federal Constitution, in preserving the Constitutional Monarchy, is to keep the balance of power in place should the people be marginalised by the executive and/or judiciary systems.

There were scores of others who had expressed similar dismay over the HRH’s decision, and these could be found on the HRH’s website which has been shut down for this reason.

However, as the guestbook of the website is powered and hosted by Dreambook, a third-party website, the comments on the guestbook could still be viewed.

My respectful view is that HRH may have acted erroneously in directing the resignation of the Menteri Besar Nizar Jamaluddin and his state exco members, when He had an opportunity to give His people their undying right to give a fresh mandate to whichever faction they believe leading them well.

Nizar Jamaluddin has been overthrown by the Sultan Azlan Shah, and Zambry Kadir has been given HRH’s consent to rise to power within 24 hours yesterday. The Perak’s Pakatan Rakyat has fallen, and Barisan Nasional (BN) has managed to grasp the state administration once again after the general election in March 2008.

But should we blame the Sultan entirely? HRH has exercised His right under Article XVI (6) of the State Constitution which states that if the Menteri Besar ceases to command the confidence of the majority of the members of the Legislative Assembly, then, unless at his request His Royal Highness dissolves the Legislative Assembly, he shall tender the resignation of the Executive Council.

Even though I do believe the power to choose a leader to represent the people in the disputed constituencies should be returned to the electorates of Behrang, Changkat Jering, and Jelapang respectively, I do not think the Sultan should be blamed for making His decision to deprive Nizar Jamaluddin and his state executive councillor of their rights to govern the state.

The development in Perak shows how meticulous the defection and takeover has been planned. After the palace issued a statement rejecting the state assembly’s dissolution, a notice went up at the state secretariat building requesting Pakatan Rakyat’s exco members and their aides to clean up their office, take their personal stuff away and hand over the keys, and surrender their official cars.

They were also reminded to leave behind all official files.

Did we hear this when Pakatan Rakyat won the majority in state assemblies in Selangor, Perak, Kedah and Penang in the last general election?

As a matter of fact, the newly elected state representatives were not even allowed to enter the state administrative buildings, and the outgoing Menteri Besars, and their respective excos were seen entering the premises at their will, probably it was said they were there to destroy some documents which they believed these documents would be used either against them if these documents were vile in nature, or their works of art for many years would be used by Pakatan Rakyat’s leaders to develop the state without much hassle to think of, if these documents were good in nature, and if there was any of those documents.

The newly elected state representatives of Pakatan Rakyat were only allowed to enter the state administrative buildings after their swearing-in ceremonies, with all offices were almost abandoned, and some important documents missing.

However, there is an issue that makes me happy, personally. I do not want to act selfish, but in Kelantan, the people sentiment is bigger than everything else including monetary promises. With this development, I am quite certain Kelantanese would detest the BN even more. Thus, I do not see the BN would be able to recapture the state even in the next general election.

And to be honest, none of the BN leaders in Kelantan would be daring enough to state their support for this well-planned coup d’état in Perak. None! If there is any, they would know their fate in the next general election due to the people sentiment if they were to be chosen as candidates.

Thus in my opinion, in the battle of wits for control of Perak, the BN has won hands down but in the court of public opinion, it has probably lost because the general sentiment is for holding a fresh election to let the people decide the outcome, and certainly in the eyes of people in Kelantan, it is going to be even difficult for the BN to capture the state. 

Yesterday I was told by an insider a conspiracy to cause a stir in Pakatan Rakyat after an elected state representative from UMNO (BN), Nasarudin Hashim jumped ship to Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) is being planned by some factions in Barisan Nasional (BN).

I was told the duo; Jamaluddin Mat Radzi and Mohd Osman Jailu will go all the way fighting to keep the status quo – their status as elected state representatives, until the UMNO's General Assembly which is due in March, is over.

They are not expected to cross over to Barisan Nasional (BN) afterwards, but to relinquish their status amicably for two by-elections to be held in the state of Perak.

I was made to believe there would be no by-elections, purportedly Najib Razak does not want to tarnish his record further after BN’s two consecutive losses in by-elections, and unfavourable prediction is rife that any upcoming election in near future will not be in BN’s favour due to his unpopular status, and he acknowledges it. He headed both of the election campaigns for BN. He would be attending the next UMNO’s General Assembly which is due in March, and henceforth he would helm the party.

And today, as being reported by Malaysiakini, The Election  Commission’s Chairman,  Abdul Aziz Yusof has acted, as if, on behalf a legal court in Malaysia, to deny the Perak State Legislative Speaker, V. Sivakumar  of his rights to decide both state constituencies; Changkat Jering and Behrang vacant due to their very own irresponsible elected state representatives, Mohd Osman Jailu, and Jamaluddin Mat Radzi respectively. It was said the chairman also has deliberately challenged Article 113 of the Federal Constitution as the Election Commission was compelled to conduct elections and had no right second-guess the decision of the state legislative assembly speaker.

Apparently the chairman thinks of himself above all laws in this country.

And for the record, the irresponsible state representatives are still in hiding for no reason and it has been more than 6 days. However they managed to contact TV3 (a private tv station which is pro-government all this while in any of their political news or report) to inform their decision to quit PKR, right after the decision was made by the Election commission. The duo has been flip-flopped with their decision to resign or not to resign from PKR in the last 48 hours.

I was told they did this and that upon advice from some factions in BN for some unknown returns.

What I could see from my own perspective, by refusing by-elections, the Election Commission has withheld Changkat Jering and Behrang electorates from their right  to representation as the “seats are now vacant,”

Based on these allegations, I would say the Election Commission is now a part of the conspiracy indirectly.

It was suggested that the duo who have been gone into hiding for no reason, will go all the way fighting to keep the status quo – their status as elected state representatives, until the UMNO's General Assembly which is due in March, is over.

They are not expected to cross over to Barisan Nasional (BN) afterwards, but to relinquish their status amicably.

It was purportedly said that Najib Razak does not want to go to the assembly with a badly tarnished record after BN’s two consecutive losses in by-elections, and unfavourable prediction is rife that any upcoming election in near future will not be in BN’s favour due to his unpopular status, and he acknowledges it. He headed both of the election campaigns for BN.

It was said; firstly the duo, Jamaluddin Mat Radzi and Mohd Osman Jailu went on to resign from PKR, and stated their interest to join BN. However upon realising the fact they signed a letter of undertaking to remain loyal to PKR, or facing a risk of losing their status as an elected state assemblyman, they quickly changed their stance to disengaging themselves from PKR only stating they had problem with PKR leaders and to remain as independent elected state representatives. Upon realising the fact they are banging their head against the brick wall and it is a prerogative of the Perak State Legislative Assembly Speaker, V. Sivakumar to declare their seats vacant upon an advice from the head of the state government and agreed by the Ruler, as they have not been reachable as many as for 5 days, they have made a last-ditch attempt to save their status as an elected state representative by having two separate press conferences to pledge loyalty with PKR, while making some police reports.

The only thing is, they were not there to represent themselves. All of those were done by their aides. So much for an elected state representative who represents thousands of electorates!

It was claimed they did this and that upon some advice from some factions in BN.

The irresponsible elected state representative for Behrang; Jamaluddin Mat Radzi and the representative for Changkat Jering, Mohd Osman Jailu were said to be a part of the conspiracy to cause a stir in Pakatan Rakyat after an elected state representative from UMNO, Nasarudin Hashim jumped ship to Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR).

After losing their positions in the state exco’s line-up pending their own trial for alleged crime of accepting bribes, the duo were said to have agreed to terms and conditions to cause a stir in the state government administration for some unknown returns.

I do not want to believe the next speculation; it was reckoned also that the duo was paid by some factions in BN to do so.

My point-of-view is very simple – being an elected representative one must not leave without notice as he/she is representing thousands of constituents. I could accept if the person would like to cross over to another political entity, but not if they would like to go missing in action.

So when the two Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) state assemblymen from Perak; Jamaluddin Mat Radzi of Behrang and Mohd Osman Jailu of Changkat Jering, were found missing even by the Perak Menteri Besar himself, I found this rather appalling.

Did these two people work in a company before? Or were they a boss previously? Even more they have to acknowledge that if an employee fails to report to work for 3 days without notice, they could possibly be terminated. We were told to let our immediate superior know if we were to be on medical, or emergency leave for that matter. 

Jamaluddin Mat Radzi said, he was on medical leave, but why did he never inform the Perak Menteri Besar? He may have problem with PKR leaders, but being a part of the state administration, he should be more responsible. Judging from his excuse, I thought as if he was one of the newly-joined inexperienced non-executives at a company.

He also said to BERNAMA,

"The undated letter was signed by seven PKR state assemblymen because they feared we would join Barisan Nasional. It looks like they had used the letter to paint a false impression that we had resigned.”

Again, how old is he? 52 years old, isn’t he? Did he ever know the fact when we sign a letter of undertaking, we are bound by its terms and conditions until the contract ends? To state the undated letter was signed under duress since March 2008, and it was mentioned now after it was kept mum for almost a year, is simply ridiculous and unacceptable.

If he never brought to justice for an alleged crime of accepting bribes over the application for a RM180 million housing project in Iskandar Tengah, and subsequently he was gone missing until he was stripped of his status as a state assemblyman, would he cry foul over the letter?

He also did not want to divulge further on his whereabouts during the missing person. Is he a responsible elected representative? Don’t be an icon if we do not want people to know where we are going. Some privilege does come with certain responsibility; especially we are elected by the people to represent them in a state assembly or parliament.

He also said to BERNAMA,

“My problems are with PKR leaders, not with the people of Behrang. I will not simply shirk my responsibilities to them,” he said.

Well buddy, in my humble opinion, you already shirked your responsibility when you went into hiding for few days.

I support the move by the Perak State Legislative Assembly Speaker, V. Sivakumar to announce the seats held by the duo vacant. In my humble opinion, it serves irresponsible state assemblymen right.

To the Election Commission, just give the people of Behrang and Changkat a new by-election respectively. Jamaluddin Mat Radzi, and Mohd Osman Jailu are welcomed to join the fray to vie for the seats, even as independent candidates. If constituents think they serve them well, and they are  the victims of dirty politics, they would be honourably re-elected. Furthermore, unlike Nasarudin Hashim of Bota, they have signed an undated letter to resign if they were to leave the party.  If I were to be a local constituent, I would say, my elected representative is mature and responsible enough to make a stand under any circumstances as that is what a leader do – to lead, sign any contract, and duly accept its repercussions, either now, or in the next election.

By-elections? Bring them on!

It has been some time since my last post, hasn’t it? Well two (2) months to be exact. Apparently it is not that easy to be a blogger. :-)

The last few articles that I wrote in blog causing me a bit of trouble; I have to reply to some emails from you-know-who. I guess the sabbatical months have ended. Well, I would never stop writing. :-)

I begin this year with an article that I read on Telegraph UK on mysterious creature studied by scientists, and they have discovered this creature is capable of reverting completely to its younger self!

A jellyfish know as Turritopsis Nutricula is able to revert back to a juvenile form once it mates after becoming sexually mature.

I guess scientists will study the process known as transdifferentiation to benefit the cosmetic industry, after all people are buying those products to slow down the ageing process, as well as to remain beautiful. :-)

The Telegraph UK wrote;

'Immortal' jellyfish swarming across the world

An 'immortal' jellyfish is swarming through the world's oceans, according to scientists.

Last Updated: 1:31PM GMT 30 Jan 2009

An 'immortal' jellyfish is swarming through the world's oceans, according to scientists. 

Photo: BARCROFT

The Turritopsis Nutricula is able to revert back to a juvenile form once it mates after becoming sexually mature.

Marine biologists say the jellyfish numbers are rocketing because they need not die.

Dr Maria Miglietta of the Smithsonian Tropical Marine Institute said: "We are looking at a worldwide silent invasion."

The jellyfish are originally from the Caribbean but have spread all over the world.

Turritopsis Nutricula is technically known as a hydrozoan and is the only known animal that is capable of reverting completely to its younger self.

It does this through the cell development process of transdifferentiation.

Scientists believe the cycle can repeat indefinitely, rendering it potentially immortal.

While most members of the jellyfish family usually die after propagating, the Turritopsis nutricula has developed the unique ability to return to a polyp state.

Having stumbled upon the font of eternal youth, this tiny creature which is just 5mm long is the focus of many intricate studies by marine biologists and geneticists to see exactly how it manages to literally reverse its aging process.